The sound of Harry's weak voice was the most beautiful sound Severus ever heard and his swollen, yet open, bloodshot eyes, the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Severus was never a man to believe in the miraculous but that had changed this night. To Severus, Harry's recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

Harry grimaced,"M'Dad. I hurt." Harry's voice was so weak and slurred, Severus could scarcely understand him.

Harry's declaration of pain concerned Severus. He looked over his son closely. It was no wonder the boy was in pain. Harry was still black and blue from his violent seizing.

Before Severus could ask Harry where he hurt, Poppy and Mzilikazi were hovering over father and son. It was obvious to Severus that he was in the way of the professionals, so he reluctantly stepped back so they could care for his son.

"Harry this is Mzilikazi Isangoma." Severus looked over at the wizened wizard to make sure he had said the man's title correctly. Mzilikazi nodded to Severus as he continued to look over his son. "He saved your life, Harry."

Harry blinked. "Thank you, Mr Isangoma," he managed to croak. His face contorted with pain. It was obvious that the boy couldn't say much else.

"Sawubona, Mr Snape…Uyamukelwa,"said the wizard as he continued his inspection of Harry. "You may call me Mzilikazi, for that is who I am. Or you may call me Isangoma for it is what I am, but not 'Mister'." Harry looked as if he wanted to voice an apology, but Mzilikazi held up his hand. "There is no need to speak, Ingane. You are still weak."

Severus spoke up for his son, "Harry woke up complaining of pain." Severus looked on anxiously as Mzilikazi continued working with Harry.

"Harry? Is Harry okay?"

Severus was momentarily distracted by a frail, young female voice.

"Hermione!"

Apparently, Ronald had not been in as deep of a sleep as Severus had expected. Severus wasn't certain if the boy was awakened by Harry or Ms Granger. Judging from how Mr Weasley bounded from his chair to Ms Granger's side, Severus surmised the boy had deeper feelings for the girl than simple friendship, even if Mr Weasley wasn't yet aware of it himself.

Harry struggled to sit up in order to see his friend. "Hermione?"

Mzilikazi gently put his hands on Harry's shoulders. Even for the old man, it did not take much effort to hold the boy down.

"Relax, Harry," Severus said soothingly to his son from over the Isangoma's shoulder. "Your friends are safe and so are you."

Severus was going to say something to reassure the young lady as she was obviously still disoriented herself from Poppy's tranquilizers, but Mr Weasley was already whispering into her ear, effectively calming the girl better than Severus could.

"Do as your father says, Ingane," Mzilikazi said. "You still need your rest."

"We're alright, mate. Just worried about you s'all. Do what the doctor says so you can get out of here," Ronald spoke up from out of Harry's field of vision, holding tightly to Ms Granger's hand as one of Poppy's younger matrons checked the girl's vital signs. Ms Granger was sitting up and was obviously in much better condition than Harry.

Hearing his friend's voice, and knowing that they were truly okay, calmed Harry enough that his head finally gave in to his pillow. The Isangoma leaned close to Harry and asked the boy a series of questions, trying to discern where he was still hurting. Harry indicated that he was in pain all over. Severus felt as if his heart were squeezing the breath out of him. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do to switch places with his son at that moment.

Poppy emerged from her office with a tray full of potions. She set the tray down on the side table and Mzilikazi instructed Harry to take them one by one. Harry's body relaxed as his pain eased. It was the first time the boy had looked truly at rest since the attack.

Behind him, Severus heard the doors to the hospital wing swing open. Albus strode is way in followed closely by Minerva and Lupin. The stress of the past twenty-four hours showed clearly on their faces but some of their worry-lines vanished when they saw that both Harry and Ms Granger were both awake.

"Mr Snape, Ms Granger. It is good to see you are both awake and hale," Albus said happily as he put a fatherly hand on Severus' shoulder.

Ms Granger answered in gratitude. Though still exhausted, Harry seemed determined of fight some of the narcotic effects of the potions.

"I don't understand? What happened? Why am I here?" Harry asked. He was barley coherent from the effects of the potions.

Severus fell silent, more from reluctance of having to repeat the story. than anything else. Mercifully, Albus took it upon himself to explain. "I am sorry to say, you were the target of a failed assassination attempt, Harry. Thankfully, you were brought here and administered treatment in time."

"Who was it this time?"

Severus felt that he could have died at that moment. Perhaps a part of him did. His son was so accustomed to being hunted, the boy barely voiced concern that someone had come so close to taking his life. What kind of life had Harry been living all of these years?

Lupin answered, "Harry, does it matter? You're safe now."

"You might as well tell him," Ronald said from his chair next to Granger. "If you don't, we will."

"Mr Weasley is right, Remus," Albus said. "I am sad to say, Harry, that your would-be assassin was Gregory Goyle."

Harry listened intently as Albus explained the events of the past day, the details he could not provide were filled in by Mr Weasley and Ms Granger.

After the headmaster and Harry's friends finished the story, Harry repeated thoughtfully, "So Goyle poisoned me with a quill laced with snake venom."

"Yes, Harry," Severus said as he took Harry's hand and gave it an assuring squeeze. "You have come through the worst of it, but you still need some time to finish your recovery."

Harry, nodded, seemingly accepting his fate. "And what happened to Goyle," he asked grimly. "Has he been arrested?"

Severus looked up at Dumbledore and his colleagues. Harry had to know, but Severus was afraid that he would sound too triumphant relaying the news.

It was Lupin who finally cleared his throat and gave a hesitant answer. "Well…Harry, apparently Mr Goyle's plan backfired and he fell victim to his own scheme. He was found dead yesterday."

There was a heavy silence in the room. Harry lay still on his pillow and stared blankly up at the ceiling. Severus wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what to say. He decided to wait for Harry to speak up.

The silence was interminable then Harry finally said blankly, "I don't know how to feel about this."

Severus sighed inwardly. He had a sinking feeling he knew what Harry was struggling with. "Harry, you don't have to feel anything about this. Gregory Goyle died from his own hand whilst plotting your murder. If you are angry or relieved, it is your right. It does not make you a bad person."

Harry did not look any more at ease when he asked, "Can we talk about this later?"

Severus gave a short nod. "Of course we can. You need to focus all of your energy on getting better." After another minute or two, Harry's body finally relaxed, and he peacefully fell back asleep.

Mzilikazi left his final instructions to Poppy and Severus, a list of potions and dos and don'ts to prevent Harry from developing pneumonia. Harry's lungs had been damaged in his ordeal and his respiration could easily be compromised again. But any problems Harry might encounter from that point on were well within the talents of the school matron and Severus to handle.

As promised, Ms Granger's parents had been contacted. As she was out of danger, her parents did not immediately rush to the school, but arrangements had been made for them to visit Hogwarts during the weekend. The gesture had gone a long way to improving Ms Granger's spirits.

Since she was doing so well, Ms Granger and Mr Weasley would both be released from the hospital wing after lunch. Not that they had any lessons to attend. Lessons had been cancelled whilst the teaching staff swept the school for anything else Goyle may have dropped. There was a real fear that the idiot may have left other tainted items lying about and the dungeons were under special scrutiny.

Severus' entire House had been temporally relocated to the East Tower while the search in the dungeons continued. The search of the Slytherin common room and dorms, along with the Potion's labs would need time and attention to detail that would require more than a single day's hunt. In the meantime the children needed a place to study away from distraction, not to mention a safe place to sleep.

Albus had searched Severus' private chambers like promised. He deemed them safe, just as Severus knew he would. At least Severus would have a safe place for Harry to continue his recuperation. Now Severus wondered exactly how he was going to manage his time.

Poppy was perfectly capable of tending to Harry in the hospital wing. But Severus didn't think it was safe enough. Not when his son was still vulnerable. But where would he find the time to take care of Harry and teach? It wasn't that Severus couldn't afford to take the time off. But he needed to have his eyes and ears alert and children where often the best source of information when it came to the comings and goings of their parents over the summer. Children where notoriously loosed-lipped and had little sense of self-preservation. Severus would essentially be blind and deaf to Voldemort's movements if he were holed up in his chambers all day.

"How is he?"

Severus jumped in his skin. If he wasn't so adept at controlling any spontaneous reaction, he would have jumped out of his chair. He forgot Lupin had stayed in the room after Albus and Minerva had taken their leave.

Severus knew he shouldn't allow himself to be so distracted by Harry's illness, but he also knew that it was something he couldn't help. But how could he protect Harry when someone as inoffensive as Lupin could so easily sneak up on him?

Severus answered Lupin with a glare. It obviously had some effect on the werewolf as Lupin had visibly squirmed. Normally, such a reaction from his former school rival would have elicited a satisfied smirk from Severus, but he was no longer interested in his past enmity with Remus Lupin. Severus had to admit quietly to himself, that Lupin honestly cared for Harry."

"He still needs a few days' rest, but he'll make a full recovery."

Lupin seemed a bit taken off-guard by Severus' civil answer, but recovered quickly enough. He nodded and said, "So I heard."

After a couple more minutes of uncomfortable silence, Lupin said, "I take it you'll be moving him to your chambers, then. You're going to need help watching over him. It's going to be rough on you."

"I'll manage."

"No you won't," Lupin replied. "You'll exhaust yourself Flooing back and forth between your classroom and your chambers every hour or two, and between time you'll be distracted with worry. You're going to need help…and…I…I think I have the solution."

There was another marked change in Lupin's demeanour. He seemed nervous and Severus couldn't fathom why.

Lupin began to fidget in his silence and Severus was growing truly suspicious. "What solution?"

Severus didn't see it as a good sign when Lupin took an obvious step back and crossed his arms protectively over his chest. "It seems to me that you are going to need a wizard who will put Harry's life over his own and is powerful enough to fight off any Death Eater that may come his way."

"True enough," Severus agreed, though he doubted any Death Eater could find their way into his chambers. "I appreciate the offer, Lupin, but you have your ow…"

"I wasn't talking about me, Severus."

A cold chill ran down Severus' spine, as if a rabbit just ran across his grave, when he realized exactly who Lupin was suggesting.

"No!"

Severus winced when he saw Harry stir in his sleep. He cast a silent Muffliato charm. Severus knew this could get loud and ugly quick. He stood up and took a threatening step towards Hogwarts' Dark Arts professor. Lupin took another step back and put his hand into the wand pocket of his tattered teaching robe.

"Severus, you haven't even heard what I was going to sa…" Lupin looked nervously over his shoulder, as if looking for help to arrive, but realized to his horror that Severus had backed him into a stone wall.

"I know exactly what you were going to say," Severus said menacingly. "I'll not have that mangy cur in my home. He'll break into my wine cabinet and leave fleas all over the furniture."

Severus knew his rant lost its menace with his last statement as Lupin began to chortle like a little girl. Severus took a step back as if Lupin's madness was contagious.

"I mean it, Lupin." Although his threatening performance was lost on Lupin, Severus had to make his point. "Black is mentally unstable. I couldn't possibly trust him with the responsibility of guarding Harry."

"Sirius isn't mentally unstable," Lupin countered. Now that Severus had stepped away, his bravado seemed to slowly return. "You would go mad too if you were trapped inside that depressing excuse for a house all day."

"Only to be trapped inside my even smaller chambers all day. Your argument is hardly convincing, Lupin."

Lupin took a step forward and emphasised, "But he'll have a sense of purpose, Severus. That man cares for Harry and his well-being every bit as much as you do…and for far longer, I might add. He'll die before he lets anything happen to Harry, and take a fair number of the enemy with him, if it came to it."

Lupin's words stung Severus to the quick, because his old nemesis was right. Black had cared for Harry longer than Severus had. For twelve years, Black had languished with worry in Azkaban for Harry's sake, whilst Severus tried with all his might to show his own son in a bad light to Albus Dumbledore. Severus was right all along about one thing. Harry's father was a swine.

The more he thought on it, the more he had to reluctantly admit that Lupin may be right.

"I'll make no promises other than I will think on it," Severus finally said. Right or not, he wasn't going to give into Lupin so easily.

"Perhaps we can all sit and talk about this with the headmaster tonight," Lupin suggested reasonably.

Severus nodded his agreement, but he didn't like it. It irked Severus to no end when Lupin refused to leave a point he could argue over.

"I've stayed away like you ordered, Albus. I don't understand why you won't let me see him now?"

Severus knew this was a bad idea. Why he even allowed Lupin to let him entertain the notion that Sirius Black would be an appropriate caregiver for Harry was beyond Severus' rational. He was beginning to think that Lupin had somehow slipped him a Buffudlement Draught.

It was late at night. Although Severus had lost track of time over the last couple of days, he knew it had to be after eleven o'clock. The headmaster had waited until the final lights-out before attempting to bring Black into the school.

Not that it mattered much, in Severus' thinking. The students had been confined to their common rooms all day. No one was wandering the castle. The common rooms would only open to staff. Students couldn't even sneak out until Dumbledore was certain the school was safe from the leftovers of Goyles' assassination attempt.

But here they all were, Severus, the headmaster, Lupin, Minerva, and of course, Sirius Black, sitting in Dumbledore's office and chatting as if it were tea time.

And of course, Black wanted to forego logic, not to mention proper manners, and wake up Harry in the middle of the night.

"Harry needs his rest, Sirius. I'm certain you understand why we cannot awaken him now," Albus said much too sympathetically in Severus' mind.

"I could have come before now," Black groused as he sipped on his Earl Grey. "No one would have recognized me."

"You're barking, Black," Severus sneered. His cup of tea remained untouched on the side table. He had no stomach for it. "The castle is crawling with Aurors. You might have been recognized."

"Then I don't see why you're complaining, Snape. You'd love nothing more than to see me captured."

"Don't be ridiculous, Sirius. Of course he wouldn't," Lupin said from the dark corner he was hiding in. Severus was certain the werewolf was trying to keep a low profile, despite the fact that this entire debacle was his idea.

And Severus thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave.

"Don't feed me that rubbish, Remus. Snape would feed me to the Dementors himself if it meant he could keep Harry to himself."

"Of course he wouldn't."

"Of course he would! Did you forget that he nearly did that exact thing almost a year and a half ago? He hasn't changed. Snape has always been a little prick."

"Snape is sitting right here," Severus said drily.

Black turned on Severus to retort, but Albus interrupted. "I must say, after twenty years, I think it is time that you two lay the past to rest if only for Harry's sake."

"I quite agree," Minerva chimed in. "This school boy rivalry became tiresome long ago. Stop acting like children and start behaving like adults."

Severus didn't see anything at all childish about his dislike for Black. He disliked him as a child, and now Severus disliked him as an adult. It was as simple as that. If anyone hadn't changed, it was Black.

Black leaned back in his chair, seething but quiet. The room was silent for what seemed an interminable time. "I'm his godfather, Albus. I just don't see why I can't see him when Snape has been with him the entire time."

Albus was quicker with the answer than Severus. "You forget, Severus is Harry's father."

"His father," Black scoffed. "Why a troll would make a better father to Harry than that berk ever would."

"Enough!" Severus erupted out of his chair. He was at his end. "I should have known better than to listen to your folly, Lupin! How can I possibly trust Black to care for Harry when we both know he'll try to turn my own son against me!"

The room descended into chaos as Severus tried to storm out of the room. Albus and Minerva were pleading with him to sit down whilst Lupin blocked Severus' way to the door. From behind him, Severus could here Black stammer, "W…What! What does he mean, 'take care of Harry!'"

Lupin had his hand on Severus' chest, refusing to let him out the door. He said too quietly for anyone else to hear, "Severus, please, for Harry's sake."

Severus' felt his immediate anger deflate like hot air from a leaking balloon.

Severus turned around to find Black standing and facing him. There was something desperate in Black's eyes. For the first time in his life, Severus empathised with the wizard. Plus, he could not deny the fact that Harry still loved his godfather.

"Is what Albus just told me true? You're going to let me take care of Harry during the day."

Black's eyes were pleading with Severus and it made Severus pity the man. He almost couldn't look at his old enemy.

Severus nodded and said, "I need someone to care for Harry during the day, but there are stipulations to be considered." Severus still thought this idea of Lupin's was sheer madness, but Severus was beginning to believe that he had no alternative.

"Anything!" Black said almost too enthusiastically. "Name your terms—I'll abide by them."

Albus invited Severus and Black to retake their chairs and for the next hour they discussed the rules Black was to follow if he were to take care of Harry in the castle. Black remained civil and agreed not to leave Severus' chambers, even in his Animagus form, without a proper escort. They arranged a way for Black to contact Severus if Harry should have problems.

Despite Lupin's and Albus' assurances, Severus felt no better after the meeting was over. Severus still didn't believe Black was a responsible adult. He could only hope that Black would prove him wrong.

As a consolatory gesture and to keep him from breaking into the hospital wing, before he left Severus agreed to let Black visit Harry under the supervision of himself and the headmaster, and of course only in disguise.

Severus watched closely as the massive, black dog sat on his haunches next to Harry and nuzzled its head into his boy's hand. Lupin stood beside Severus with a stupid grin on his face whilst Albus stood by the door to keep watch and afford some privacy.

Severus resisted the urge to forcefully yank the mutt away from his son. It had nearly come to that when Harry shifted in his bed of cracked open his eyes.

"Snuffles," the boy said sleepily as he ran his hand once through the course, dark fur.

Severus nearly choked as he asked, "Snuffles?"

"James gave him the nickname," Lupin explained. "It's a long story."

"I'm sure I don't want to know."

The dog whined and settled his head on Harry's chest. Harry smiled as he slipped back to sleep.

"Do you still think this is a bad idea, Severus?" Lupin asked quietly.

Without taking his eyes off Harry, Severus replied in resignation, "If the mutt pisses on my carpet, you're cleaning it up."